Sometimes, not always, the victors on penalties
are the better team. Spain can claim that their shoot-out triumph over
the world champions was deserved, not only because they scored four
spot-kicks to two, but also because of their general domination of play
during the preceding 120 minutes.

Rearguard victory
Italy
defended supremely well. What many Azzurri fans were calling a
makeshift back four gave Spain’s vaunted two-man strike force of David
Villa and Fernando Torres very little time and space in which to weave
their magic. The occasional jinking run aside, the two forwards were
repeatedly ensnared, with every slight miscontrol seized upon
voraciously by one or sometimes two or even three white shirts.
Torres’s second-half substitution was a little victory for the Italian
rearguard.

Sterile encounter
Roberto
Donadoni, the Italy coach, countered the loss of chief playmaker Andrea
Pirlo through suspension by packing his midfield with players of
industry and endeavour. The plan, it seemed, was to cut the supply to
the front two at source. Indeed, the tone for a match of relative
sterility was set in the opening minutes when the Azzurri parked
everyone defiantly in their own half and invited Spain to come on to
them in the hope that one loose pass might lead to a counterattacking
opportunity.

Low-risk policy
Spain had as
much as 70 per cent of the ball for the first dozen minutes, but were
in no hurry to try anything fancy and cede possession unnecessarily.
Indeed, Marcos Senna, La Roja’s midfield linchpin, ended the first half
with the perfect statistic of 100 per cent pass completion. By the end
of the two hours that figure had been cut to 91 per cent, but while the
Brazilian-born anchorman was undoubtedly one of the best players on
show, his extraordinarily high percentage rating was indicative of the
low-risk policy adopted by both teams.

Disappointing ratio
Senna
fired in four shots, all from distance, getting two on target, one of
which forced Gianluigi Buffon into a rare fumble, spilling it against
the post. The Villarreal CF midfielder’s success ratio was considerably
above average for both his side and the game in general, with Spain
having 26 attempts on goal but only working Buffon six times. Italy,
less willing to shoot on sight, disappointingly managed just three on
target from 12 efforts.

Incontestable win
Spain
also had the edge in terms of overall possession (57 per cent to 43)
and corners won (eight to three). Most importantly of all, though, they
put the ball in the net twice as many times as their opponents during
the penalty shoot-out, with Iker Casillas also proving twice as
successful as his Italian counterpart, in terms of spot-kick saves.
Italy might bemoan their misfortune but, as the statistics show,
Spain’s victory was incontestable.

Dmitri Torbinski and Andrei Arshavin struck in
the last eight minutes of extra time to take Russia into the UEFA EURO
2008™ semi-finals at the expense of the Netherlands as Guus Hiddink
eliminated the nation of his birth.

Russia dominance
From
the off, Russia never allowed Marco van Basten’s previously imperious
side space and they attacked with vigour. Roman Pavlyuchenko’s
56th-minute volley seemed to have won the game but with four minutes
remaining Ruud van Nistelrooy headed an equaliser. However, Russia
dominated the additional half-hour and the tireless Arshavin set up
substitute Torbinski to restore the advantage from close range in the
112th minute. The No10 added another himself to
book a semi-final against Spain or Italy in Vienna on Thursday,
although Torbinski and Denis Kolodin will miss that match through
suspension.

Robben ruled out
Having rested
most of his first-choice lineup in Tuesday’s win against Romania, Van
Basten returned to the selection that started the impressive defeats of
Italy and France, Arjen Robben’s hopes scuppered by continuing groin
problems. It was Russia, beginning as positively as Hiddink had
promised, who had the first chance when Yuri Zhirkov’s free-kick forced
Edwin van der Sar into a diving save and Igor Semshov then crossed from
the right for Pavlyuchenko to head over. Russia’s outnumbered fans made
most of the early noise as the Netherlands took time to get to grips
with their opponents’ pressing game, although Van Nistelrooy did nearly
get a decisive touch on Rafael van der Vaart’s free-kick.

Kolodin denied
Suddenly
the Netherlands started to produce the flowing football that lit up
their group games in Berne, and their supporters responded accordingly.
But if many Dutch players were fresh after sitting out the Romania
match, Arshavin was also relatively rested having been suspended for
the first two games and from a solo run he forced Van der Sar to save.
The goalkeeper then tipped over Kolodin’s ferocious shot before the
Netherlands attacked again at the other end as Khalid Boulahrouz, whose
late baby daughter was remembered by his team-mates’ black armbands,
sent Van Nistelrooy through for an effort that Igor Akinfeev blocked.

Pavlyuchenko finish
Russia looked
sharper as the second half got under way, Arshavin nearly scoring with
a swerving free-kick, and a minute later Sergei Semak sent in a cross
from the left that Pavlyuchenko gleefully turned in. Russia were
allowing the Netherlands little of the ball and attacking at pace, Van
der Sar using instinct and one hand to keep out an Aleksandr Anyukov
strike. The goalkeeper also saved when Pavlyuchenko was put through
while Torbinski was unfortunate not to turn the ball in soon after. It
seemed the Oranje’s campaign was over but with four minutes left Wesley
Sneijder curled in a free-kick for Van Nistelrooy to head in and force
an extra half-hour.

Extra-time decisive
However
Russia were unbowed, Semshov forcing a diving stop from Van der Sar
while Arshavin blazed over and Pavlyuchenko’s dipping shot was only
kept out by the crossbar. Arshavin then burst through and crossed for
Torbinski, only for Van der Sar to block again. The second extra period
continued in the same vein, Pavlyuchenko just failing to turn in
Arshavin’s cross but finally the breakthrough came when the FC Zenit
St. Petersburg playmaker delivered another looping centre for Torbinski
to volley in. Four minutes later Arshavin sealed a semi-final place
with the goal his play deserved as his shot deflected in off John
Heitinga, confirming that the Netherlands would follow fellow group
winners Portugal and Croatia home.

Germany progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA
European Championship for the first time since 1996 as goals from
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack secured a
3-2 victory over Portugal in Basel.

Heads, you win
The
Mannschaft ended up lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy that year and the
way they raised their game to meet the challenge of a Portugal side
that refused to lie down – halving a two-goal deficit twice through
first Nuno Gomes and then, in the dying minutes, Hélder Postiga –
augurs well for Joachim Löw’s team. By contrast, it was a night when
the worst fears of Portugal’s Chelsea FC-bound coach Luiz Felipe
Scolari were realised, his pre-match nightmares about Germany’s aerial
superiority materialising in the form of headed goals by Klose and
Ballack. Portugal were semi-finalists in 2000 and runners-up in 2004
and Scolari had hoped to take that final step at UEFA EURO 2008™ but
his farewell party fell flat at St. Jakob-Park, where Portugal were
overpowered by opponents who shrugged aside impressively their
occasional first-stage torpor.

Debt paid
With
Simão probing down the right, Scolari’s men appeared to be finding
their stride as they offered the first threat on goal when Bosingwa
crossed and João Moutinho, free of his marker but seemingly caught in
two minds, steered the ball over at the near post with his knee. Yet in
the 22nd minute they fell behind. It was a wonderfully worked goal too,
swift passing between Philipp Lahm, Ballack and Lukas Podolski
advancing the ball down the left, with Podolski bursting clear to drive
in a low cross which Schweinsteiger converted with a sliding finish.
Schweinsteiger’s coach Löw had told the midfielder he had a "debt" to
his team-mates after his red card against Croatia and here, in his
first start of the finals, he resembled a man on a mission.

Scoring feat
Scorer
of two goals against Portugal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup,
Schweinsteiger was the architect of their second here too, drifting a
free-kick into the Portugal box which Klose, ghosting clear of the red
shirts, headed past Ricardo. Raul Meireles replaced the injured
Moutinho and Portugal went in search of a lifeline. It came via captain
Nuno Gomes five minutes before the break. Simão’s crossfield ball sent
Ronaldo racing clear of Per Mertesacker down the inside-left channel
and though Jens Lehmann blocked his shot, Gomes was first to the
rebound, striking first time into the net via the foot of Christoph
Metzelder, defending desperately on the line. It was Gomes’s sixth goal
on the European stage over three tournaments – a scoring span only
achieved by Jürgen Klinsmann, Thierry Henry and Vladimír Šmicer before
him.

Tense finish
Ronaldo was a whisker
away from an equaliser moments before half-time, flashing the ball past
Lehmann yet just wide of the far post. Deco did find the net shortly
after the interval but was in an offside position and the little
midfielder then flicked on a Simão corner to set up Pepe, only for the
defender to nod over. Ballack showed him how it should be done in the
61st minute when – to the displeasure of his future manager – he
shrugged off Chelsea FC team-mate Paulo Ferreira and beat Ricardo to
another Schweinsteiger free-kick to head home. Scolari sent on Nani and
Postiga as Portugal chased the game and the pair combined to ensure a
nervy finale when Postiga headed in from Nani’s left-wing delivery but
the glimmer of hope was soon extinguished.